Yonkers High, Gorton are diamonds in the dirt

Oct. 23, 2011

Yonkers HIgh school boys soccer player Chris Cruz dribbles the ball during practice, as members of the baseball team practice in the background, at Sullivan's Oval in Yonkers. / Xavier Mascarenas/The Journal News

Written by

Vincent Z. Mercogliano

Soccer player Nabeel Qawasmi kicks the ball downfield during practice. The team is forced to practice on a rough field, which is shared simultaneously with the football and baseball teams.

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At times in the course of this boys soccer season, Yonkers coach Janet Ryan has found it difficult to come up with answers. When players on her team ask her why they are stuck using fields with no grass or white lines or goals, she doesn't always know how to respond.

"Being in the Yonkers system, they understand how it works, but it's hard to explain to them that Yonkers just doesn't have the money," Ryan said. "They see these turf fields around us and don't understand why they can't play on them."

The Yonkers Public Schools' six boys soccer teams weren't even sure they'd have a season until just days before the Aug. 22 start of official practices.

What followed was a scramble to try to find the equipment and field space to satisfactorily accommodate their needs.

Despite the adversity, Yonkers High School and Gorton have enjoyed strong showings.

The Bulldogs, at 11-0-1, are having the best season in program history. Gorton has won five of its last seven games to improve to 8-7. And both teams feature some of the top scorers in Section 1.

Yonkers sophomore Chris Cruz, who arrived from Mexico two years ago, leads the area in points with 36 (21 goals, 15 assists) in his first full season with the varsity team.

"He has great foot skills, and he knows where to pass it before he even receives the ball," said Ryan, the only female boys soccer coach in Section 1. "He's very unselfish — just an extremely smart player. He has everything going for him. Now other teams are realizing that and coming after him, but he's handling it well."

Gorton did not have goals to shoot on in practice for the first couple of weeks, but it now has two of the top scoring threats in the section in Luis Andrade (20 goals, 10 assists) and Brandon Melendez (15 goals, 14 assists).

"We go to these other schools and they have new equipment and everything, but we still play pretty well against them," Yonkers senior Kyle Dailey said. "It makes you wonder if we had that stuff, how much better we could be."

The hardships for these teams have been mounting since the city of Yonkers underwent even more dramatic budget cuts for this school year than in years past. Athletic directors and junior-varsity teams were eliminated, leaving the bulk of the responsibility for each of the district's athletic programs to Jim Rose, the director of physical education, health and interscholastic sports in Yonkers.

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"This year, the biggest obstacle is definitely fields," Rose said. "The turf fields were pretty much booked when we tried to get on them because they heard that we were not having sports."

Yonkers High School's team practices on Sullivan's Oval, which is adjacent to school property. The team shares the field with the football team, and occasionally is joined by the baseball team as well. "The football team gets three-quarters of it, and we get a quarter," Ryan said. "We don't have any goals or lines."

Gorton is supposed to practice at Redmond Field, a city park located on Cook Avenue, but coach Christopher Ball often must seek alternatives when all the fields are occupied.

"If all four fields are taken, we have to go to the gym and share with the cheerleading team," Ball said. "Even in regular times, it's difficult coaching in Yonkers, but right now we're at the pinnacle of difficult. I've never seen anything like this in 20 years."

Said Rose: "The ongoing issue with our fields is that we have a very large city with lots of youth programs. Most of our fields are dependent on the Parks and Rec Department to give us fields."

Losing the turf war

Of the 23 fields in Yonkers under the control of the city's Parks and Recreation Department, five are relatively new turf fields — three at Tibbetts Brook Park, one at Fleming Field and one at Pelton Park. With those being the most desirable fields, the demand for them is very high.

"The facts are that there aren't enough fields," Parks and Recreation department employee David Simpson said. "There's more demand than there is space. The parks department has to balance the needs of the residents and the needs of the Board of Education. There's a balancing act, and there's always going to be somebody who's unhappy."

According to the Parks and Recreation Department, varsity sports are given priority scheduling from 3-6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Local Boys & Girls Clubs are given priority after 6 p.m. and on weekends. The Board of Education receives a discounted rate of $50 for two hours to use the turf fields (the grass fields may be used free of charge), yet varsity teams claim they still end up on Redmond Field for home games during the week.

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"In other districts, varsity gets first preference, but unfortunately, that's not the case in this city," Rose said. "We've had multiple meetings with Parks and Rec, and we've been struggling to get more time."

Some teams more than others have been able to get onto fields such as those at Tibbetts. Ball said Gorton has played more than half its home games on one of the well-kept turf fields, and this year's Yonkers City Championships were held at Tibbetts. But Ryan said her team has ended up at Redmond Field for the majority of its home games.

"The conditions are just horrible," said Ryan, who admits feeling embarrassed when she has to inform opposing teams that there are no bathrooms for them to use at the fields. "Two of the fields are mostly just dirt. One is at an angle — it's not even straight. And one is half of a baseball field. It's not conditions that you'd ever want to play in. And there's usually four games on at once, so that makes it even more crazy."

Concern about safety

The biggest concern for the Yonkers coaches is the well-being of their players.

"You don't have to be an expert to realize that it's not safe," Ball said of Redmond Field. "We have gotten hurt more in practice than we have in games, and it's obviously because of the practice conditions. I've had kids step in this, or twist that. I've had more guys have to sit this year than in the last two years combined."

Ball also noted that the goals at Redmond Field are made of iron posts that are bolted into the ground. "It's basically like running into a wall," he said.

Additionally, the abundant rainfall has caused flooding at Redmond Field, creating a muddy, slippery playing surface.

"Are they in the condition of the fields from some other districts? Absolutely not," Rose said. "But with that said, I don't believe any coach would put their kids out there in a situation that was unsafe."

In several instances, games have been postponed due to the field conditions, and there have been a few occasions when a team was able to move its game to one of the turf fields. Still, the city's Parks and Recreation Department says it has received no more complaints than usual this season.

"The individuals that handle it haven't brought it to my attention," Parks and Recreation commissioner Marty Bellew said. "I find it kind of strange that it's being brought up now."

Making the best of it

As the City of Yonkers continues to struggle, the consensus seems to be that most of those involved with varsity sports are working hard to make the best of an unfortunate situation.

"The athletic department, as far as I'm concerned, has done a ton," Ball said. "As far as equipment and stuff like that, this year, they've really stepped up and at least tried to get us everything that we need. Do I have everything? No, but they've helped out tremendously."

Both Ball and Ryan noted that winning has helped their teams cope with the circumstances. Their teams have rallied, capturing the attention and respect of others around the section.

"Thank God we're having a winning season," Ryan said, "or else it would be even harder."